5 ms·

This was an interesting read. Building and selling a company for $875m, that’s amazing! I was a bit confused, did the tech exec just quit without notice when t

This was an interesting read. Building and selling a company for $875m, that’s amazing! I was a bit confused, did the tech exec just quit without notice when they learned the CEO was pregnant? How would they be able to justify that insanity to their next employer?

zcheck 6y ago
I think you are reading too much into that part. She was telling the height of ups and downs as a CEO in that single day.
AkshatM 6y ago
I worked at PlanGrid during this event. The exec in question received an offer from one of the Big 4 at an equivalent (and possibly more senior - this was in late 2017, so memory is fuzzy) exec-level position, and simply sent word they wouldn't come into the office the next day. There was no two-week notice or polite exit interview - they just vanished. It was not common news that Tracy was pregnant at the time, so I do not believe it factored into his decision at all. The exec in question is very well-known and had lead successful teams at much bigger companies before. We speculated, at the time, that he had found working for a startup to be a very different beast instead.
- gautamcgoel 6y ago
  I'm curious, which companies make up the Big 4? Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft?
  - AkshatM 6y ago
    Usually some subset of Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Google So Big 5, really, but I feel Apple is usually omitted because its primary focus is consumer hardware and the software is usually an ancillary product.
  - eastbayjake 6y ago
    Usually "Big Four" refers to the 4 largest accounting firms: Deloitte, EY, KPMG, PWC.[1] If it's referring to tech, that's an odd/confusing usage when "FANG" is so prevalent for the same concept but explicitly for tech. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Four_accounting_firms https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Four_accounting_firms
    - lazyasciiart 6y ago
      In my experience, the vast majority of people in tech are completely unaware of the accounting usage. I only know it because my two siblings work for two of them.
- BillFranklin 6y ago
  Ah I see, thank you for explaining that. I misinterpreted that sentence.
  - muchosandwich 6y ago
    There was and still is a lot of speculation about why exactly he left.
redis_mlc 6y ago
I'm not going to comment on the actual article, which IMO is a frank stream-of-consciousness blog rather than an analysis. But here are 2 things to keep in mind: 1) Founders, and some engineers, join a startup for the vision or adventure. But most other staff, especially salespersons and executives, are there for reliable cash. Not "on-the-come" or "we'll see where this goes." I've interviewed salesmen for a startup, and the first question they ask is, "What's the base salary?" And it better be risk-free and close to $100k in SF, regardless of the commission. Or they'll just think, "Time to call my buddy at FAANG or Oracle" and walk out. 2) If you haven't had a child, then you don't know what the dramatic physical, mental and social impacts are. The author described mostly the physical side of having a child, but not the other 2 factors. Post-partum depression can have long-lasting effects far beyond the act of giving birth - my partner behaved literally like a stranger for 18 months. What you see on TV is definitely not reality.

zcheck 6y ago

I think you are reading too much into that part. She was telling the height of ups and downs as a CEO in that single day.

AkshatM 6y ago

I worked at PlanGrid during this event. The exec in question received an offer from one of the Big 4 at an equivalent (and possibly more senior - this was in late 2017, so memory is fuzzy) exec-level position, and simply sent word they wouldn't come into the office the next day. There was no two-week notice or polite exit interview - they just vanished. It was not common news that Tracy was pregnant at the time, so I do not believe it factored into his decision at all. The exec in question is very well-known and had lead successful teams at much bigger companies before. We speculated, at the time, that he had found working for a startup to be a very different beast instead.

gautamcgoel 6y ago
I'm curious, which companies make up the Big 4? Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft?
- AkshatM 6y ago
  Usually some subset of Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Google So Big 5, really, but I feel Apple is usually omitted because its primary focus is consumer hardware and the software is usually an ancillary product.
- eastbayjake 6y ago
  Usually "Big Four" refers to the 4 largest accounting firms: Deloitte, EY, KPMG, PWC.[1] If it's referring to tech, that's an odd/confusing usage when "FANG" is so prevalent for the same concept but explicitly for tech. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Four_accounting_firms https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Four_accounting_firms
  - lazyasciiart 6y ago
    In my experience, the vast majority of people in tech are completely unaware of the accounting usage. I only know it because my two siblings work for two of them.
BillFranklin 6y ago
Ah I see, thank you for explaining that. I misinterpreted that sentence.
- muchosandwich 6y ago
  There was and still is a lot of speculation about why exactly he left.

redis_mlc 6y ago

I'm not going to comment on the actual article, which IMO is a frank stream-of-consciousness blog rather than an analysis. But here are 2 things to keep in mind: 1) Founders, and some engineers, join a startup for the vision or adventure. But most other staff, especially salespersons and executives, are there for reliable cash. Not "on-the-come" or "we'll see where this goes." I've interviewed salesmen for a startup, and the first question they ask is, "What's the base salary?" And it better be risk-free and close to $100k in SF, regardless of the commission. Or they'll just think, "Time to call my buddy at FAANG or Oracle" and walk out. 2) If you haven't had a child, then you don't know what the dramatic physical, mental and social impacts are. The author described mostly the physical side of having a child, but not the other 2 factors. Post-partum depression can have long-lasting effects far beyond the act of giving birth - my partner behaved literally like a stranger for 18 months. What you see on TV is definitely not reality.